WATCH: Army deployed to Manenberg, Hanover Park

Published Jul 18, 2019

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Cape Town - Exactly a week to the day the soldiers of the SANDF were promised, military boots hit the ground in Manenberg, Hanover Park and other locations of the Cape Flats after President Cyril Ramaphosa finally signed the deployment papers.

As the soldiers arrived with tanks and trucks, the president was in Parliament responding to the Presidency Budget vote and said, “As required by our constitution I have been in correspondence with the Speaker of the National Assembly and the chairperson of the NCOP with regards to the SANDF deployment in certain areas of the Western Cape. The SANDF members will be deployed to support police to restore law and order in communities that are being terrorised by gangsterism”

South Africa National Defence Force (SANDF) has been deployed in Manenberg. Video: Brendan Magaar & Phando Jikelo/African News Agency (ANA)

SANDF arrives in Hanover Park. Video: Brendan Magaar

Meanwhile in the streets of Manenberg and Hanover Park there was almost a carnival atmosphere as people celebrated the arrival of the troops,and, Roegchanda Pascoe of the Manenberg Safety said “the people welcome the deployment, but I am cautious about celebrating too early before we see what exactly they will do.”

On Wednesday Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula said, “One of the Generals, together with the police, were saying it would have to be robust in the beginning to stabilise the situation.”

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Cape Argus

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